Ja5on

I believe she should have. Maybe I’ll talk with a lawyer.

S Folinsky

I wonder if OP filled out an I-864 and the concomitant supporting documentation when it was not required. Or was an I-864W submitted instead. I just looked at the instructions for said forms and it is mentioned, but in passing with the 864 instructions noting only section 320 by number only.

Ja5on

i-864 wasn’t required for a minor child of a us citizen. I filled out the I-864w if I remember correctly.

Rete

Well consult while she is in the US. If she is, as I expect, then she needs to apply for a US Passport and for that she needs your Naturalization Certificate and her IR-1 in her passport (instead of a green card) to show her eligibility.

Ja5on

her ir-1 stamp has expired and she’s leaving the country on the 19th.

S Folinsky

<sigh>

Section 215(b) of the Immigration & Nationality Act provides “Except as otherwise provided by the President and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may authorize and prescribe, it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter, or attempt to depart from or enter, the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport.”

AmbEmbassy London has an American Citizen Services Section.

Do retain a lawyer.

newacct

The expiration of the immigrant visa is irrelevant. The fact that she entered the US on her immigrant visa means she became a US permanent resident (i.e. green card holder) at that point in the past, and US permanent resident status does not expire. So it still serves as evidence that she automatically became a US citizen under INA 320 then (if she met the conditions then) or now (if she didn't meet the conditions then but did meet the conditions on this stay). And such evidence that she already became a US citizen will allow her to get a US passport. The question is whether she meets the conditions.

See 8 FAM 301-10 regarding the State Department's interpretation of issues relating to INA 320, in particular, 8 FAM 301.10-2(F) regarding what counts as residing in the US, and 8 FAM 301.10-2(G) regarding what counts as being in your custody.

When did you become a US citizen? When did your daughter first enter the US on her immigrant visa? What periods of time has she spent in the US?

S Folinsky

Ja5on

By all means, feel free to read the linked material. That said, it can be misunderstood quite easily. My advice for legal consultation and representation still applies.

I used to lecture on the subject in training classes for attorneys. I would note that when the final condition met was admission as a LPR, that green card would go “poof” and become instantly invalid inasmuch AmCits are not aliens; alien being defined as non-citizens (or nationals).

(BTW, I would not be surprised if your daughter’s immigration records show a big WTF on the part of the airport DHS when confronted by a U.S. Citizen with improper docs).

Rete

The IR-1 might be expired, however, it should have been further stamped at the POE upon entry with an I-551 stamp which is her paper green card. Usually this is good for a year. Check it. And yes, consult with an immigration attorney.

Ja5on

the I-551 stamp was expiring a few days after she arrived. That’s what I considered the reason she was allowed entry. The person at immigration said that wasn’t valid because she has been issued a greencard, which sounds wrong to me. That’s when they gave her a I-9something which I now can’t find and they didn’t stamp her passport with anything.

Ja5on

I became a citizen a few years ago. She got her greencard after that. I had hoped she would come out for a number of months to “reside” here but it has only ever been a couple of weeks at a time. So I don’t think she qualifies for citizenship yet.

tht

Go here and look it up:

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/history-search

Ja5on

thanks. It says no record found. I’ve spoken with her and she doesn’t have any intentions of moving here. I’m going to give her a month to find her greencard when she gets home. After that I’ll file I-407 to abandon her greencard. That should give it enough time for her to come out on ESTA st Christmas. She’s realistically going to be living/working/going to school in the uk for the next 5 years at least. Other than me and her step mom/half sisters, all of her family live in the UK.


thanks everyone for the advice.

Rete

Your daughter became a USC the moment she entered the US with a valid IR-1 in her passport. She does not have to qualify for it with a presence test as her citizenship is based on your naturalization. Once you became a US Citizen and she entered the US with the valid IR-1 while she was under the age of 18, she automatically became a US Citizen.

Take her, her passport with the IR-1 (regardless of the expired date), her birth certificate, your naturalization certificate (original) and apply for her passport asap.

Rete

How can you abandon what status she does not hold. She is a US citizen.